Burnley midfielder Steven Defour to have late fitness test before Middlesbrough

06 April 2017 17:09

Steven Defour faces a fitness test ahead of Burnley's Premier League trip to Middlesbrough on Saturday.

The Belgium midfielder suffered a blow to the leg in Tuesday's victory over Stoke, a match that had seen the 28-year-old make his first start in more than two months after a hamstring injury.

Manager Sean Dyche said: "I took him off early in the second half because he got a knock just above his knee on his thigh.

"We are having that checked out. We don't think it is too serious but but he hasn't managed to train today (Thursday)."

Dyche is hopeful Iceland winger Johann Berg Gudmundsson will soon be back in contention.

Gudmundsson has been out since suffering a knee ligament injury in the FA Cup loss to non-League Lincoln in February.

Dyche said: "JBG won't be in contention (this weekend) but he is back in full training this week and we are looking to get him some form of a game, or a segment of a game, next week.

"He seems really clear at the moment, so that is good news."

The Clarets' victory over Stoke ended a run of seven games without a win in the Premier League and lifted them to 35 points, a club record in the competition, and close to survival.

Dyche, however, is not taking anything for granted yet with seven games still to play.

He said: "We still don't think we are the real deal and we know it's not a done deal. We know we have got more work to do but we are in good shape.

"We had a good result on Tuesday but that gets parked very quickly and we move on to the next one, which is Middlesbrough.

"Our decision has always been to have that one-game-at-a-time mentality. It's well documented and I believe in it.

"The challenge is looking at the league table and seeing points at the end of the season. It's not relevant at the moment."

Source: PA